Cooktop appliances generally include heating elements for heating cookware, such as pots, pans and griddles. A user can select a desired heating level, and operation of the heating elements is modified to match the desired heating level. For example, certain cooktop appliances include electric heating elements. During operation, the cooktop appliance operates the electric heating elements at a predetermined duty cycle or power output corresponding to a selected heating level.
Operating the electric heating elements at the predetermined duty cycle or power output corresponding to the selected heating level poses certain challenges. For example, all water within a pot may evaporate during heating of the pot, and a temperature of the pot may increase dramatically after the water evaporates. Such heating of the pot can be undesirable.
Accordingly, a cooktop appliance with features for avoiding undesired heating of a pan on the cooktop appliance would be useful. In particular, a cooktop appliance with features for reducing a power output of heating elements of the cooktop appliance when a temperature of a pan on the cooktop appliance exceeds a temperature limit would be useful